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Russian President Putin: USA warns of "tough economic sanctions"
Photo: MIKHAIL METZEL / AFP
US President Joe Biden wants to threaten his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin with serious economic consequences if Russia invades Ukraine.
Several news agencies unanimously report this.
At the video summit on Tuesday, Biden will make it clear to Putin that the costs would be very high, "should Russia decide in favor of such an approach," said a high-ranking US government representative on Monday. Putin would then have to reckon with "considerable economic countermeasures by both the Europeans and the United States." In the conversation, Biden will also emphasize that there is a diplomatic path in the crisis.
In addition, Washington is ready to station more soldiers in Eastern Europe in the event of a crisis.
Washington is currently not considering a direct military response.
Should Putin invade, "there would be increased demand from allies on the eastern flank and a positive response from the United States for additional soldiers, resources and exercises," the government official said.
The US is not about "finding itself in a position in which the direct use of American troops is at the center of our considerations."
In the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, Washington preferred "a combination" of several elements: "support for the Ukrainian army", "tough economic sanctions" and a "substantial increase in support and capacities for our NATO allies".
Biden will contact his European allies before his video summit with Putin, the government representative said. The US president will "talk to important European allies in the course of the day to coordinate his message." After the video summit with Putin on Tuesday, Biden will inform Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj.
In the run-up to the talks, Putin had made demands on the US and NATO.
Among other things, he demanded a clear rejection of a possible further eastward expansion of the western military alliance.
Biden, on the other hand, announced a series of "initiatives" to prevent a Russian attack on Ukraine - but without specifying them.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Moscow was not expecting a "breakthrough" from the talks.
Nevertheless, it is "always better to talk to each other".
Zelenskyi visits soldiers from the front
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is paying a visit to soldiers on the front line in the east of his country.
Zelenskyi visited positions in the Donetsk region on Monday and thanked the soldiers "for protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," as the presidential office in Kiev announced.
"With people like you we will definitely win," said Zelenskyi.
Images distributed by the Ukrainian Presidential Office show how the 43-year-old president in a helmet and a bulletproof vest presents awards to soldiers.
The troop visit took place on the 30th anniversary of the Ukrainian army.
It was founded after the former Soviet republic gained independence from Moscow in 1991.
The tensions between Russia and the West in the Ukraine conflict had recently intensified significantly.
With Russian troops moving on the border with Ukraine, there are fears that Moscow might attack the neighboring country.
The government in Kiev warned on Friday of a major Russian attack in late January.
These fears were fueled by a report in the Washington Post.
Accordingly, Moscow's plans include "extensive movements of a hundred battalions of tactical units with an estimated 175,000 men, along with tanks, artillery and equipment."
sol / dpa / AFP / Reuters